Hyatt Hotels has opened the Hyatt Centric Melbourne, marking the entry of the vibrant Hyatt Centric brand into Australia.
Located in the heart of Melbourne’s downtown, event planners may utilise the 210m2 of flexible function space on level 6, as well as the 248m2 alfresco terrace.
Delegates may be put up at one of Hyatt Centric Melbourne’s 277 contemporary guestrooms, spread across 25 levels. Meanwhile, amenities include a 25-metre pool, and 24-hour gym.
There will be also two F&B options onsite – the Restaurant & Bar on the 25th floor which offers Mediterranean-inspired menus featuring Victorian produce alongside panoramic views of the city, the Yarra River and the Southbank; and the café, Allie Lane, which serves coffee and craft beer, as well as homemade pastries and sandwiches.
Magdalena Martorell, a seasoned professional with two decades of hospitality experience in Europe and Asia has taken charge of Meliá Phuket Mai Khao.
The Spanish-born general manager comes to Meliá Phuket Mai Khao after successfully opening Meliá Shanghai Parkside in China, and SOL by Meliá Phu Quoc in Vietnam.
Martorell has worked with Meliá Hotels International for the entirety of her hospitality career, beginning 20 years ago when she was selected to join the leading Spanish hotel group’s internal development programme.
She steadily rose through the ranks, working as the operations manager at Tryp Rey Pelayo at Gijón in the north of Spain before becoming the resident manager at Meliá Barcelona. She then became the general manager at Tryp Barcelona Aeropuerto before moving to Asia in 2012 to assume the hotel manager post at Meliá Bali & The Garden Villas.
Opening soon, Meliá Phuket Mai Khao offers 30 suites and 70 villas, and facilities such as four dining outlets, a five-treatment-room spa, three swimming pools, a fully-equipped fitness centre, kids’ club, ballroom and two multifunctional rooms.
The new acquisition builds on last year’s initial investment in the firm
Flight Centre Travel Group, FCM’s parent company, has fully acquired Shep, a Texas-based software company that provides a browser-extension based communication platform for multinational corporations.
The Shep browser tool will enable FCM to customise content and enhance the user experience on third party websites and online booking tools that corporate customers use, either as part of the FCM platform’s flexible offering or when booking or searching outside of a company’s recommended booking tools.
The new acquisition builds on last year’s initial investment in the firm
There are also tangible benefits for customers in the areas of health, safety, sustainability and policy guidance, which the Shep product will enable FCM to integrate into these systems when the products don’t offer them themselves.
As such, customers can expect greater consistency across the globe, while also delivering better control, duty of care, sustainability and communications benefits – a priority in today’s evolving travel landscape.
Shep’s integration comes as the company gears up for the global rollout of its new omnichannel, proprietary platform to service a multinational client base across 100 countries.
Alongside Shep, FCM will continue to leverage the significant technology investments its parent company has made in recent years to improve customer experience. These include the acquisitions of booking technology specialist WhereTo, mobile chatbot platform Sam, and equity investment in air content aggregator TPConnects.
Without clarity on endemic plans, large-scale organisers in Singapore will continue to have many hurdles to cross
The rapid spread of Omicron infections across the world has forced Asian governments this week to reinstate even tougher border measures, with Thailand pausing her quarantine-free allowance for travellers and Singapore freezing new ticket sales for Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights and buses.
Thailand’s latest restrictions will be enforced until January 4, 2022, but the Kingdom will continue to accept Thailand Pass applications for visits with quarantine, with registrations required at least one week prior to travel. The Phuket Sandbox scheme will also continue to stand.
Singapore has imposed a stop-sale order on all new ticket for Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights and buses
Singapore’s VTL freeze, in effect from December 23 to January 20, will not impact travellers who have already obtained a flight or bus ticket. The latest decision will also see the Ministry of Health temporarily reducing the VTL quotas and ticket sales for travel after January 20, 2022.
The capacity and ticket sales for VTL land travel into Singapore or Malaysia from January 21 will be cut by half, with allowance for only 24 one-way bus rides per day.
Designated VTL flights into Singapore will also be halved from January 21.
Omicron fears have also led Japan to extend until January next year her ban on new entries by all foreigners and quarantine requirement for all returning Japanese nationals and foreign residents. These rules were supposed to have ended at the end of this year.
Meanwhile, stricter social restrictions have also been rolled out in some parts of the region. South Korea has reimposed a curfew, requiring dining establishments and bars to close by 21.00 and limiting gatherings to no more than four people, while Malaysia has axed all large New Year’s Eve celebrations, allowing only small and private gatherings – provided pre-event Covid-19 tests are conducted.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has appointed Amanda Hyndman as general manager of Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, as well as area vice president of operations and group director of quality & rooms.
In addition to managing the group’s flagship property, she will also oversee operations at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong; Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou; Mandarin Oriental, Macau; and Mandarin Oriental, Sanya.
Hyndman’s corporate responsibilities extend to the group’s rooms division and quality service programme, managing all aspects of global operational standards as well as rooms division, including front office, housekeeping and guest services.
A seasoned hotelier, the British national joined the group in 2007 as general manager of The Excelsior, Hong Kong, before taking on general manager roles at Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C., and Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok where she oversaw the historic Authors’ Wing renovation.
In 2018, she joined Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London as general manager and area vice president, operations and was responsible for the most extensive renovation in the hotel’s 100+ year history, while also overseeing Mandarin Oriental properties in Munich and Prague.
A new partnership struck between Interprefy and Korea MICE Association (KMA) will grant the latter’s members easy access to cloud-based interpretation services at a special rate.
Kyuree Kim, international coordinator at KMA said the partnership with Interprefy will provide operational relief to her members, as “providing translation and interpretation services is still one of the biggest issues for running online events because of unstable connections, audience inconveniences, and accessibility”.
Interprefy will bring its remote interpretation services to KMA members at special rates
Kim added KMA’s decision to be “an official partner of Interprefy” was made due to the platform’s simplicity in setup and usage.
Interprefy allows interpreters to deliver their services remotely, without the need for anything or anyone to be located on-site. Online event participants simply login and listen to the language of their choice through their smartphones, laptops or desktops.
An affiliated association of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism since 2003, KMA represents South Korea’s business events industry and has around 300 members which conduct business events in the country and overseas.
As Malaysian borders remain closed to overseas event delegates and venues continue to operate at only half their capacity due to Covid-safe measures, industry players in the country believe that hybrid events will continue to dominate the format of business activities taking place in the new year.
At the recent BE@Penang hybrid event for the business events community, Ashwin Gunasekeran, CEO, Penang Convention Bureau, highlighted the positives of hybrid events, such as allowing local and foreign delegates who could not attend in-person an opportunity to attend virtually.
From left: Place Borneo’s Mona Abdul Manap, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s Abdul Khani Daud, Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s Ashwin Gunasekeran, BESarawak’s Amelia Roziman, with virtual speaker Sabah Tourism Board’s Noredah Othman
He observed that hybrid events have improved much since the early days of the pandemic, with content-enhancing elements such as holograms getting more commonplace. He expects virtual experiences to only get better as technology improves, allowing organisers a chance to leverage technology to meet event objectives and enhance the delegate experience.
Malaysia’s recent entry into the Hybrid City Alliance, alongside four local city representation from Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, emphasises the country’s commitment to positioning herself as a knowledge capital and to supporting multi-city hybrid conferences.
Speaking on the matter, Abdul Khani Daud, CEO, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, said: “We are looking forward to working closely with other cities around the world to do multi-city hub events.”
Fellow panellist, Sabah Tourism Board general manager, Noredah Othman shared that being part of the Hybrid City Alliance would help the tourism board expand its network and learn from established cities, especially in terms of hosting successful hybrid events.
These industry leaders presented their observations and projections at a panel discussion, The Big Picture: Business Events 2022 & Beyond Outlook.
While the future of hybrid events remains promising, moderator Mona Abdul Manap, founder and CEO, Place Borneo, said such events receive much smaller financial support from convention bureaus as compared to in-person events.
She called on convention bureaus to change their mindset, as hybrid events could market a destination and entice virtual delegates to visit the destination in future.
In response, Amelia Roziman, CEO, BESarawak, said the state convention bureau provides equal support for hybrid and physical events. However, BESarawak is currently conducting a study to understand how it could support virtual events and the deliverables expected from hybrid meeting planners.
Tales of collaboration with government agencies, travel, tourism and hospitality trade associations, organisations from other sectors and even competitors have dominated panel discussions throughout the two-day SG Tourism United Forum online event on December 8 and 9.
The second day of SG Tourism United Forum featured (top row from left) TTG Asia Media’s Karen Yue, Singapore Airlines’ Royston Lim, Restaurant Association of Singapore’s Edwin Fong; (second row from left) Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers’ Dylan Sharma, Singapore Retailers Association’s Rose Tong, Singapore River One’s Michelle Koh, and (bottom row) PATA’s Wong Soon Hwa
The event, presented by PATA Singapore Chapter with event partner, TTG Asia Media, featured top level executives representing the country’s most important trade associations in the industry: Singapore Hotel Association, National Association of Travel Agents Singapore, Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers, Singapore Retailers Association, Restaurant Association of Singapore, Orchard Road Business Association, Association of Singapore Attractions, and Singapore River One.
They were joined by representatives of Singapore Tourism Board who detailed trade support efforts; Changi Airport Group, Singapore Airlines and Dream Cruises who presented a snapshot of how their organisations reimagined operations to remain sustainable and to continue to deliver quality customer support and experiences throughout the unusual circumstances presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tough issues facing the industry were also discussed. Panellist inputs and audience polls conducted during the discussion identified that Singapore’s Vaccinated Travel Lanes, while critical for travel recovery, have not resulted in equal impact for the various sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, and that sustained recovery hinges on many factors such as a coordinated reopening across Asia, certainty in governments’ border restrictions, and relaxation of social restrictions. At the same time, rising operating costs and loss of industry talents are causing concern among industry players
However, organisations such as the Singapore Hotel Association, Changi Airport Group and Singapore Airlines are seeing an improved hiring landscape in the destination, with recruitment activities intensifying over the past few months.
The recordings can be reviewed now on TTG Asia Media’s YouTube channel.
The demand for digital services is highest among event organisers this year, found the second and latest Industry Partners Benchmark Survey released by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, while demand for services considered mandatory for running an event have experienced a steady decline in demand.
Developed by the UFI Industry Partners Working Group, the survey benchmarks and assesses the relationships between industry partners and suppliers and exhibition organisers and venues. It also identifies areas for improvement with regards to collaboration.
Demand for services of physical events has declined, with consultancy services seeing the widest slip
In analysing the demand for services of physical events, the survey finds that booth construction remains the most relied upon service (75% of respondents are continuing to use this service in 2021 versus 80% in 2020), alongside staff and security (75% in 2021 versus 79% in 2020).
Use of event technology and software has climbed from 66% in 2020 to 67% in 2021 – the only defined service that has seen greater usage this year among event organisers.
Consultancy services are among the least utilised services, and are experiencing a further steady decline in demand.
It is concluded that that demand for services considered mandatory for running an event have experienced a steady decline in demand.
Asia-Pacific respondents are relying more on event services than their European counterparts
The survey also discovers a growing demand for event services in Asia-Pacific, while that in Europe is declining.
In determining the impact of services on the success of events, the year-on-year change has been marginal but on the rise. Consultants are found to contribute the least impact on the success of events, while communication and marketing is regarded highly. The latter could be linked to the ability to track the success of marketing activities more effectively than other services, and are the biggest contributors to ensuring event participation.
Survey analysts suggest that consultants’ low perceived impact may be due to inconsistent quality of consultancy services across the industry. That said, there is a significant increase in the perceived value of consultants among pure venue owners, especially in countries in Asia-Pacific.
As the perceived impact of services on event success is relatively homogeneous, it is suggested that a successful event requires a wide array of services.
Findings also indicate that the demand for more innovation from service providers remains high. In rating service providers’ level of innovation, Asia-Pacific respondents gave event technology and software service providers an average satisfaction score of 3.6, with 5 indicating high satisfaction and 1 being low satisfaction. This is the highest score among all other services. Communications and marketing comes in second with an average satisfaction score of 3.5.
Event technology and software as well as communications and marketing service providers also scored highly with European respondents, at an average satisfaction score of 4 and 3.9 respectively.
“The results of our first survey showed in tangible terms the value organisers place on their suppliers and partners for the success of their events. Our second survey goes deeper and also demonstrates where the suppliers and partners relationship stands vis-à-vis the organisers for their recovery period events,” said Ravinder Sethi, chair of UFI’s Industry Partners Working Group.
Sebastian Witt, vice chair of UFI’s Industry Partners Working Group and who is responsible for the survey, said the findings provide “valuable insights for service providers in our industry”.
“We are happy to note that service providers are regarded as an integral part of the exhibition ecosystem and contribute tremendously to the success of our industry. Nonetheless, we observe that service quality is not consistent and demands from service providers are changing; service providers can and should invest more into innovation,” Witt added.
The survey was conducted at the start of 2021 with some 190 companies from around the world, with the majority based in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Complete findings of the second Industry Partners Benchmark Survey can be downloaded from the UFI website.
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